[V8Vairs] Oiling for Re: <VV> Long term engine storage - to rotate or not

[FrankCB at aol.com]

Paul,
    I do think periodic rotation (every couple of months) is the best idea.  
To keep oil from completely draining off the pistons, you can install the 
plugs only a few threads and remove them temporarily to squirt oil before rotating 
the engine.  I would recommend using a SMALL amount of a metallic based 
antiseize compound on the plug threads to avoid damaging the aluminum threads in 
the heads.  GM may not have recommended using antiseize on Corvair plugs but 
they also never intended Corvair engines to have so many plug reinstalls over 40+ 
years of operation.  A metallic based compound will help promote heat 
transfer from the plug to the head which was probably the General's main concern over 
using antiseize.
    Alternatively, you can do what I have done.  That is to fabricate a 
pressurized oil supply system to feed about a quart of oil under 40 psi pressure 
through the 1/8 in. NPT hole that the oil sender switch plugs into.  I got a 
Moroso 1-1/2 qt. accumulator tank which is a vertical aluminum chamber about 
3-1/4 in. diameter by 1 foot long.  The top has a Schrader valve (tire pressure 
type) and the bottom has a lever action shut off valve (from Home Depot) and a 
pressure gauge (Home Depot) with 1/8 in. NPT piping to fit the oil sender 
switch hole.  I use a long thin tube fitted temporarily at the bottom to suck up 
about 1 qt. of oil through the oil dipstick hole into the accumulator using a 
MityVac to supply vacuum.  Then the valve gets shut trapping the oil inside.  
The accumulator is attached to the oil pressure sender hole and kept in a mostly 
vertical position.  Then 40 psi air pressure is supplied to the accumulator 
tank and the valve opened.  The gauge shows the oil pressure on the oil system 
of the engine until the quart has been "re-injected", then the gauge goes to 
zero and you can hear the sound of air escaping into the engine.  Shut the 
valve, disconnect the air supply, remove the accumulator, and reinstall the oil 
pressure sender switch.  Then you can rotate the engine about one turn of the 
crankshaft using a short handled wrench with a 3/4 inch (or 19 mm) socket on the 
end of the crank pulley bolt.
    Frank "the fabricator" Burkhard
       
In a message dated 4/17/05 10:15:05 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
PaulSiano at aol.com writes:
I have received differing opinions about periodically rotating a freshly  
built engine.  One school of thought is to do it so that some valve  springs 
will 
not be compressed for long periods of time.  Another  suggestion is to not do 
it to avoid scraping oil off of the cylinder  walls.  Is the best answer to 
squirt oil in the spark plug holes and rotate  it every couple of weeks or so?

Any thoughts?  

Paul